Mini Knitted Ocean by Sachiyo Ishii – Knitting Craft Book Review

I am rather a fan of Sachiyo Ishii’s adorable knitted toys. I have made many from patterns in knitting magazines, and am building up a little library of her lovely books. The latest I have bought is Mini Knitted Ocean.

The book is about 19cm wide by 23cm high (about 7.5” x 9.5”). It has 96 full colour pages.

ISBN Number – 978-1-78221-232-4

Lots of Clear Information

The book starts with details of the yarns, needles and other materials needed.

As with all Sachiyo’s books, she encourages you to use whatever scraps of yarn you have on hand, and not to worry too much about scale. To get similar results to the finished samples shown you will need Double Knitting (8 ply) or 4 ply (fingering) yarn.

The projects use very small amounts of yarn.

Next there is information on the knitting stitches required. There are no instructions on how to actually knit, it is assumed you know the basics.

How to crochet fins on to little fishes

A list of abbreviations is next – they are logical and pretty standard to most other professional patterns.

There is then a section with clearly illustrated instructions on how to sew up and stuff the little creations. There are also instuctions on how to make an i-cord (a nice easy technique) and some other techqnies that are used for various projects in the book.

There is a page with details of how to do backstitch and French knot embroidery stitches which are used for detailing some of the ocean creatures.

Sachiyo also gives instructions on how to crochet a foundation chain and how to crochet fins for the fishes. This is done in a lot of detail so that knitters who do not usually crochet should be able to do this with out much issue.

The Knitted Ocean – Included Patterns

The patterns for the projects follow the nice clear style that has become one of the hallmarks of Sachiyo Ishii’s creations. There are colour photos and each pattern has a difficulty level to help newer knitters decide whether they are ready to tackle a particular design.

People Patterns

Deep sea divers – in their cute little helmets
Mermaids – the first thing I knitted from this book

Young Mermaid – smaller version of the mermaid

Scuba divers – with tanks, goggles and cameras

Fishermen – in waterproofs or dungarees, with accessories

Ship’s Crew – such cute little sailors with their officer

Other Ocean Life Patterns

Dolphin – everyone’s favourite
Killer whale – the handsome black and white Orca
Sea lion – amusing sea mammals, complete with a pattern for a ball for them to play with
Walrus – large sea mammals with adorable whiskers

Mini crab – very cute, sitting up crab
Hermit crab – in his little shell-house
Squid – always useful
Octopus – another popular ocean creature
Starfish – these can double as little stars for lots of other projects
Anemones – large and small versions

Seagull – a seaside essential
Cat – a cute little extra

Plus a really detailed fishing boat, yellow submarine and dock

Summary of Mini Knitted Ocean by Sachiyo Ishii

Many of the designs could be knitted in different colours to make other breeds – or lots of your own fantasy breeds!

Many of the designs lend themselves to being turned into key chains or bag charms. They would also look great on a mobile.

This is another great book from Sachiyo Ishii. The designs are easy to knit as they are knitted flat. I have knitted some of them in the round to avoid seams, and the patterns are easy to convert if you want to do this.

There are lots of patterns included, with huge potential for variations. So particularly good value for money.

Beginning knitters should find plenty that they can tackle, and will enjoy the challenge of the harder designs. More experienced knitters will find this a useful addition to their knitting pattern library with lots of potential for using the designs in bigger projects or adding your own twists.

Links to Mini Knitted Ocean by Sachiyo Ishii on Amazon

Here are links to the book on Amazon.com (left) and Amazon.co.uk. If you buy from these links, I may receive a small commission from the shop for sending custom their way. This is at no cost to yourself. Thank you.